The founding of Bathurst | State Library of New South Wales
The founding of Bathurst

The founding of Bathurst, c. 1815-1816
John William Lewin (attrib.)
Watercolour
Bequest of David Scott Mitchell, 1907
V*/Expl /2

After crossing the Blue Mountains in 1815, Macquarie camped beside the Macquarie River surrounded by one of the finest landscapes he had ever seen, in part because its immediate commercial value was obvious to him. It was, he decided, a suitable place to erect the first town beyond the ranges, which he named Bathurst.